Drops of Jupiter
by teethshaver
Summary: A H/H songfic to the Train song Drops of Jupiter


A/N: My first try at a song fic. I am not sure about it, tell me what you think.  
  
Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns Harry, Hermione, Viktor, and Hogwarts. Train owns the song.  
  
Drops of Jupiter  
  
Harry got out of his car at the London airport after an hour-long drive. He wanted Hermione to have a better coming home than her going away. After graduation, the trio had spent a month visiting old friends all across the country, and checking out potential jobs in the wizarding world. He could still hear her words as she left.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Harry, I'm sick of it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm sick of being me, of being perfect. I need to just get away from it all, to see who I really am."  
  
"Silly. You're Hermione Granger, Hogwarts alumni cum laude, future Hogwarts teacher or Ministry member. You're sweet, friendly, clever, slow to anger, bossy, brave, loyal, and inquisitive. How could you not know who you are if I do?"  
  
"That's just it, Harry. I'm not sure that's really who I want to be. I need to just go away for a while, get a chance to figure some things out."  
  
"When do we leave?"  
  
"No, Harry. If I need to change, I can't do it around people who know exactly what I'll say, do, or think. I need to see who I am just for me, for a while."  
  
"But Hermione, what will we do without you?"  
  
"The same thing you did without me every time we were arguing."  
  
"Try to figure out what we did to make you so upset?"  
  
"Harry, goodbye."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
And she left, with just an overnight bag of clothes, money, and her wand. She might have dropped off the face of the planet, for all her friends knew. They hadn't heard a word from her until a week before, when she sent an owl telling which plane she would be coming back on. Harry supposed that she had discovered she already knew who she was, and was ready to return to her normal life. He walked into the airport, and got directions from the information desk as to where that particular plane would be landing. He was a bit early, just enough to get lost on his way to the gate and watch her plane land. He didn't see her as she stepped off. She was wearing drapey black pants, and a tight-fitting button up shirt that seemed to change colors as she moved. Her hair was down loose with little jewels that matched her shirt holding it off her face. She had a huge glowing smile on her face, and her movements seemed to flow. Harry was surprised when he finally recognized her, she seemed different.  
  
-Now that she's back in the atmosphere  
  
-With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey  
  
-She acts like summer and walks like rain  
  
-Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey, hey.  
  
She started looking through the crowd as soon as she got off the plane. No reply had been sent to her owl, and even if they had gotten it she wasn't sure anyone would come to pick her up. Finally, she spotted Harry near the back of the receiving line. His hair was still a fluffy black mess, long enough to hide the trademark scar on his forehead. His glasses were gone, making his eyes appear a startling green. Recovering from her momentary surprise, she hurried over to where he stood.  
  
Harry picked her up and twirled her in a hug. "Hey, it's nice to see you. We've missed you a lot back here."  
  
"I'm sorry, I know I was gone a while. It's great to see a familiar face again." Her voice was warm, and sweeter than usual.  
  
"Do we need to stop by baggage claim?"  
  
"Nope, I only picked up one small bag of things on my trip, and it's right here."  
  
"You've missed a lot. Mind if I fill you in?"  
  
"Not at all, go right ahead."  
  
He told her about the Weasley twins finally opening their joke shop, Cornelius Fudge's mysterious disappearance, and much more. She cocked her head, storing the information away without interruption, a pleasant expression on her face. He led her out to the car, and continued giving news and gossip for a good portion of the drive.  
  
-Since the return from her stay on the moon  
  
-She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey  
  
They were most of the way back to Harry's flat in Cambridge when he began to ask questions. She withheld all information about her trip until they got back. Harry kept pegging her with questions, guessing all sorts of illogical places she could have gone or things she might have done, hoping to be able to figure something out from her reactions. She began tuning him out after a few minutes of this, so she lost the few hints he dropped.  
  
Harry thought that she had done her little 'discovery' of the world, and decided she liked her self and her life. He certainly hoped she had, because he had felt awful while she was gone. He had missed her so much, and thought about her every day. He worried about what might happen to her, especially when the letters didn't arrived. He was afraid she might never come home.  
  
-Tell me, did you sail across the sun?  
  
-Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded,  
  
-And that heaven is overrated ?  
  
When they finally got back to Harry's flat, she picked up her few bags out of the trunk and followed him inside. It was dark, but when he flipped the lights on the air was filled with "Surprise!" and the room was filled with her friends from around the country. They had spent the week since her note arrived planning the coming home party for her, trying to remind her how many people loved her as she was, that she didn't need to be someone else. Hermione didn't say much about her trip, though everyone asked her. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw her blush when someone mentioned Viktor Krum.  
  
-Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star-One without a permanent scar  
  
-And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?  
  
Despite many unanswered questions, the party ended on a high note. Hermione was going to stay at Harry's place for a bit, until she had settled and found herself a job. She spent a lot of time writing letters, sending resumes, and checking references for jobs around the country. She seemed a little different, and had picked up a few odd habits on her trip. Every day she spent an hour exercising to classical music, and had tried to persuade Harry to join her. He mostly avoided it, but gave it a chance for her.  
  
-Now that she's back from that soul vacation  
  
-Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey  
  
-She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo  
  
-Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey  
  
She seemed calmer than she had been, and more friendly. Slowly she released the details of her trip. It seemed she had traveled around a good deal of the world, touring exotic places and enjoying herself. More often she told about the people she had met, who all seemed so interesting that Harry wondered about how she'd do back in a stationary world.  
  
-Now that she's back in the atmosphere  
  
-I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane.  
  
-Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land .  
  
With a masochistic fascination, Harry pried information from her. She made the outside world seem so exciting, filled with amazing sights and temptations. It pained him to see the distant look in her eyes, the secret smile she only gave when remembering. He was afraid she would remember things she missed, and go back to them.  
  
-Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet?  
  
-Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
  
-And head back to the Milky Way?  
  
-And tell me, did Venus blow your mind  
  
-Was it everything you wanted to find?  
  
-And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?  
  
He tried to subtly fill her with all her favorite old life memories, things from the rest of the summer, Hogwarts, and even earlier. He tried not to let her see how much emphasis he put on the adventures with Ron and him, but still have her notice.  
  
-Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken?  
  
-Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong  
  
-Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five-hour phone conversation?  
  
-The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me  
  
Finally, Harry had heard all, or what he thought was all, of what happened on her trip. She seemed to be adapting back to normal life well, and he stopped making her remember. She didn't talk about it when he didn't ask questions, and he supposed that if they didn't talk about it she wouldn't think about it, or would just remember how good it felt to be back home.  
  
-Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet?  
  
-Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
  
-And head back toward the Milky Way?  
  
-Tell me did you sail across the sun?  
  
-Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded  
  
-And that heaven is overrated?  
  
Hermione was hesitant to tell Harry about her trip. She could tell that it had been hard for him to have her gone, that he felt better to have her safe and close by. She had known since before she left that he liked her, and that had been a big part of why she left in the first place. She was unsure of her feelings toward him, was afraid of what she might say if he asked. She never told him all she had done, and so could still feel his unasked questions burning in her mind.  
  
-Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star  
  
-One without a permanent scar?  
  
-And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself?  
  
After their marriage, Hermione reflected on what she actually had done on the trip.  
  
-And did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day?  
  
She decided before she sent the note to have him meet her at the airport that if she was going back, it would be for him.  
  
-And did you fall for a shooting star, fall for a shooting star?  
  
She had discovered as soon as she got off the plane how much it had hurt her to be gone, to be away from him. That confirmed all she had found on her trip, that he had been the anchor she needed since age eleven, when she was still lost.  
  
-And are you lonely looking for yourself out there?  
  
A/N: Thanks to all those who actually read it, I wasn't sure how well it fit but the whole "Did you fall for a shooting star, One without a permanent scar?" line hooked me. Review, please. 


End file.
